A survey released by Diamond, a Japanese online media outlet, on Sept. 22 has revealed the countries where male baldness is most common. Of all the Asian countries on the list, Japan came out on top, with an estimated 26.78% of Japanese men bald or balding, at least according to Japan’s data.

The number is 1.67 times higher than 22 years ago, with only 15.6% of Japanese men losing their hair in 1982.

It’s not all bad news for Japan, though. European countries dominated the top five rankings.

The survey finds that the Czech Republic takes the top bald spot in the world, with almost half of Czech men going bald at 42.79 percent. This is followed by Spain with 42.6 percent, Germany with 41.24 percent, and France with 39.24 percent. The UK has the fifth highest count of bald men, with 39.23 per cent of males losing their hair.

The next after the UK is the US, followed by Italy, Poland, Netherlands, Russia and Canada.

Out of 21 Asian countries included in the survey, Hong Kong comes in at number two (24. 68%) and Singapore at number 3 with 24.06% of Singaporean men losing their hair. South Korea, meanwhile, has one of the lowest rates of baldness and comes in at number 20, with only 22.41% of South Korean men losing their hair.

The survey is currently receiving a lot of attention in Japan, prompting many to wonder why Japan’s men might have come out thin on top as they grow older.

The survey result points to Japanese men’s westernized eating habits and increased stress level as the main contributing factors for their balding hair, not to mention a combination of genetics and male hormones.

Hair and scalp experts involved in the survey suggest that their meat-heavy meals, and anxiety from stress cause sufficient nutrition to not reach a capillary vessel, leading to the loss of locks.

Interesting differences about perceptions of bald men

A survey released in 2017 indicates that in the U.S. being bald is attractive. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have released the findings of a survey that found that bald men on the whole are more successful than hairier ones.

The findings also showed that participants perceived the bald men to be more dominant, masculine and confident and will perform better in business. The bald men were also thought to be taller and stronger than men who still had their hair.

In contrast, a survey published by the ‘International Journal of Dermatology’ in 2002 suggested that bald men are perceived as being older and less attractive by over 90% of respondents in Korea.

The survey on the perception of bald men was conducted by 130 women (age range 15-58 years), 90 non-bald men (age range 18-72 years) and 30 bald men (age range 20-63 years).

The survey results found that a perception exists in Korea that bald men are less confident, duller, and less potent by less than 50 percent of respondents. A perception that bald men are less attractive was significantly more common among women than among non-bald men.

The findings also showed that the perception of bald men by others was similar to the perception of bald men by themselves, suggesting that it is likely that androgenetic alopecia adversely influences the social interactions of those who are subject to it.